Born: December 13, 1903, Norfolk, VA

Education: Shaw University, B.A. valedictorian, 1927

Died: December 13, 1986, New York, NY

Cofounder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, Baker delivered a great speech at its 1964 convention. “Until the killing of black mothers’ sons becomes as important as the killing of white mothers’ sons,” she declared, “we who believe in freedom cannot rest.” An activist in “the long civil rights movement” from the 1930s, she also devoted her post-movement years to progressive politics. She never rested.

Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker (1981), a prize-winning documentary, sums up her activism. In its native Swahili, fundi means one who masters an art and transmits it, the leader, storyteller, or teacher whose strength and wisdom are shared by the full community. Student organizers called her the fundi, as she challenged and guided them in promoting literacy, practical life skills, the right to vote, citizenship, and empowerment among ordinary people. As an organizer, Baker promoted “group-centered leadership rather than a leadership centered group” (Grant, 2001, p. 40), a freedom struggle much larger than that of a leader like Martin Luther King, Jr. This reflected Baker's experience in grassroots movements for justice. She honed her antiracist and freedom strategies organizing workers and women during the Great Depression and as NAACP Director of Branches, 1940–46.